Group-as-a-Whole and Complexity Theories: Areas of Convergence. Part I: Background and Literature Review

Abstract

Complexity theory is a scientific paradigm concerned with the ways in which order and disorder (unpredictability, turbulence, chaos) combine to produce emergent higher levels of organization in living systems. The group-as-a-whole is an instance where interactions among individuals, often at ‘the edge of chaos’, lead to group-qua-group dynamics. The paradigms underlying group psychology and complexity theory are considered. Group theory developed along the lines of Enlightenment science, with its emphasis on order and linear causation, while complexity theory reflects the newer sciences of quantum physics and chaos theory, which are based on uncertainty and disorder, respectively. Some basic concepts of complexity theory are discussed, and recent literature on complexity theory and group psychotherapy is reviewed, to provide a background for exploring the potential implications of complexity theory for three dominant theoretical frameworks for dynamic group psychotherapy: Bion’s basic assumptions, Foulkes’ group analysis, and Agazarian’s systems-centered therapy. These will be taken up in Part II, to be published in a subsequent edition of Group Analysis.